One moment. One foolish desire. One mistake. And Corinthe lost everything.

She fell from her tranquil life in Pyralis Terra and found herself exiled to the human world. Her punishment? To make sure people’s fates unfold according to plan. Now, years later, Corinthe has one last assignment: kill Lucas Kaller. His death will be her ticket home.

But for the first time, Corinthe feels a tingle of doubt. It begins as a lump in her throat, then grows toward her heart, and suddenly she feels like she is falling all over again–this time for a boy she knows she can never have. Because it is written: one of them must live, and one of them must die. In a universe where every moment, every second, every fate has already been decided, where does love fit in?

Quick & Dirty: A beautiful, touching story about a girl learning to love in a strange situation. This was engaging and brilliant, and fans of Delirium by Lauren Oliver will enjoy it!

Opening Sentence: Principal Sylvia Patterson pulled her office door shut, checked the lock, then hitched a stack of folders slightly higher in her left arm as she made her way down the empty halls of Mission High.

Excerpt: No

The Review:

Fates is about a girl named Corinthe, who has been ostracized from her home land after doing a forbidden thing, and forced to live on Earth (Humana) as an Executer. She helps make sure fate happens, and certain destinies that are uncertain are resolved the way they are meant to be. Living with her guardian Miranda, she is beginning to feel better about her exile, although still she yearns dearly for home. All she wants is to be finished with her tasks and to go home to Pyralis. Then, finally, gets her last assignment, to kill a human boy, is given to her. Strangely, though, the task that she is most resolved in is the one that spirals most out of control.

One of the things that I rave about in this book is the gorgeous, unique writing style. It was like music, and it flowed so brilliantly, like honey. I was very impressed!

Corinthe is so determined to get home, and it’s obvious in every word that all she wants is that. Slowly it begins to change, and in subtle ways her focus begins to divert as she falls in love with Luc. She denies it, at first-she is new to living like a human, naive to this world. But Luc represents the good things about humanity: kindness, perseverance, bravery in a tough life.

Luc was the character I was able to identify with more, perhaps because his voice was purely human. Corinthe had an almost alien way she describes the story, and Luc I had more empathy with. His mother walked out on the family when he was young, his father is always drunk, and his sister keeps getting hooked on drugs. It’s not exactly a peachy life looking out for them, but Luc gets by. Usually when you first are introduced to a character you are more uncaring about their life, but I was definitely touched by this kid’s story.

The story kept going down paths that I didn’t expect at all, making me surprised, scared, and everything in between. It kept consistent, though, and never went too far off the track, to the point I was confused. No, this was perfectly understandable.

I have one complaint, though. The characters, the setting, the plotline, everything was fabulous except for one thing…the length. I felt like there were enough pages, but the story happens in such a relatively short period of time that just more would have been great. While it was obvious that Corinthe and Lucas were falling for each other, it would have been great if they could have had more time together.

All in all, this one is an enthralling, engaging story with lots of action, betrayal, and love around every corner. The release date will be a miracle for readers everywhere. I congratulate this author on her debut feat!

Notable Scene:

She reached out and wrapped her fingers around the stem, right below the petals: the only flower that would ever grow, the only thing that could save her, here, underneath her fingers. She gasped. The flower’s pulse was so strong it almost knocked her over. She could feel her hand burning.

She would die, but it was worth it. Because Luc would save his sister. It would be Corinthe’s gift, to thank him for what he had given her.